SME Cost Relief in Malaysia: Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng urged more reforms as living costs bite, pointing to Merdeka Day measures that expand petrol/diesel quotas, boost school maintenance funding, and add grants for hawkers, small traders, night-market vendors and home-based businesses. Qatar Smart Mobility Push: Qatar’s Ministry of Transport will host the second Autonomous e-Mobility Forum in Doha (Sept 7–8), spotlighting AI-driven electric and autonomous transport to cut emissions and improve safety—an angle that matters for local suppliers and logistics SMEs. Cybersecurity Pressure on Small Firms (META): Kaspersky research tied to GITEX Nigeria warns that 82% of SMBs in the META region faced cyber incidents in the past year, with spyware, password stealers and backdoors rising—raising the stakes for SMEs that lack dedicated security teams. Iran Trade Shock Hits Businesses: Euronews Farsi reports a reinstated US naval blockade has disrupted most of Iran’s heavy imports and non-oil exports, stranding cargo, spiking freight rates, and squeezing household budgets—directly impacting Iranian SMEs reliant on supply chains. Saudi AI Access for Creators and SMEs: Adobe expanded its partnership with Saudi MCIT and HUMAIN, offering 27m eligible Saudi citizens/residents free access to AI creative tools, including Firefly and Express, to support productivity and small business content creation. WhatsApp Business Charges Loom for Kenyan SMBs: Meta’s plan to start charging Kenyan businesses for WhatsApp Business messages signals higher operating costs for customer-facing SMEs.